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Topic: Carl Rogers and the CIA (Read 7173 times)

I Found a link to the article, “Carl Rogers and the CIA”, originally from the journal of humanistic psychiatry. This is not only telling as it concerns Rogers, but also the others working with The Society for the Investigation of Human Ecology (later called The Human Ecology Fund) which was one of the main CIA front groups along with the Josiah Macy Foundation used to funnel money through for mk-ultra research. This is pretty interesting perspective on this history considering the source.

Carl Rogers was a pioneer and leader in the humanistic psychol- ogy movement. Although his many professional activities and accomplishments are well known, the story of his association with the Society for the Investigation of Human Ecology—a front orga- nization for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)—is barely known and has never been explored in any depth. This article attempts to tell that story in the context of America during the 1950s, Rogers’s academic career, and the mission of the CIA.

Lets connect the dots. In 1953 Cia director Allen Dulles authorizes Mk ultra. He contacts Harold Wolff to conduct studies on brainwashing, which he does with Lawrence Hinkle. It wasn’t until 1955 until Wolff heads up the Society for the Investigation of Human Ecology, the cia front, operating until 1965, and with which many notable figures were affiliated with.

It begins, “Scientific interest in the methods used by communist state police was stimulated by the experiences of the United Nations prisoners of war during the Korean campaign. Since then a considerable body of information has been assembled through the efforts of many investigators. Our knowledge of these methods was obtained during an investigation carried out from 1954 to 1956 with the collaboration of the United States Department of Defense.”

So anyways, Hinkle and Wolff’s paper speaks for itself I think, and it is clear then that Mk ultra was very interested in thought reform, and I think this matters when evaluating Carl Rogers’ work and influence.

I am going to quote some related material by Rogers. Before I do, I think mentioning that Carl Rogers’ legacy was to lay the foundations for the humanistic psychiatry, which came to being as a response to behaviorism. As well Rogers is famous for popularizing the encounter group, which was his humanistic application of sensitivity training developed by Kurt Lewin and the NTL. So I am starting with this quote, which I believe embodies some of the underlying philosophy behind much of the pursuits of humanistic psychiatry and the human potential movement.

“I feel a deep concern that the developing behavioral sciences may be used to control the individual and to rob him of his personhood. I believe, however, that these sciences might be used to enhance the person.” – (foreward to pt VII The Behavioral Sciences and the Person.‘On Becoming a Person’ -Rogers 1961)

This entire section is, in hindsight of todays knowledge of his activities, a statement of what he knew and discovered from his involvement in the mind control network. Sorry, I won’t be typing out the entire section, very worth reading, but only this part which refers back to Woff and Hinkle from earlier in this thread.

P.375 “We know how to disintegrate a man’s personality structure, dissolving his self confidence, destroying the concept he has of himself, and making him dependent on another. A very careful study by Hinkle and Wolff of methods of communist interrogation of prisoners, particularly in Communist China, has given us a reasonably accurate picture of the process popularly known as “brainwashing.”…. In a sense it is misleading to describe these methods as a product of the behavioral sciences. They were developed by Russian and Chinese police, not by scientists. Yet I include them here since it is very clear that these crude methods could be made decidedly more effective by means of scientific knowledge which we now possess. In short our knowledge of how personality and behavior can be changed can be used constructively or destructively, to build or destroy persons.”